Dannymay 2019
by quishaweasley
Summary: Fics from Dannymay 2019.
1. Crossing

Danny was scared.

He was scared shitless.

Out of all the things to happen today, he didn't expect this.

His best friend was dying.

Usually Tucker and Sam were pretty okay during ghost fights. Yeah, they got a couple scrapes and bruises. But they could walk those off.

But this. Tucker wouldn't make it through this.

Right now Sam was on the phone, getting an ambulance to their location. She was trying her best, but Danny could tell her efforts would be futile.

Tucker and his self sacrificing _ass_ had jumped between Danny and an unseen ectoblast.

He'd flown through the air, crashing on the ground. Sam had screamed, and when Danny turned to face the ghost, it wore a blanched expression.

Danny threw all hell at the ghost, before capturing it in the thermos.

He turned around, running towards Tucker and collapsing on the ground beside him.

He could hear the silence being broken by the sirens in the distance and by Tucker's wet coughs.

"Danny." He rasped.

He pulled Tucker into his lap, letting out a anxiety ridden hum.

"You know that cheesy light everyone talks about? The light at the end of the tunnel? I can see it." Tucker whispered.

Danny's blood ran cold.

"Tucker, you gotta stay with us man. The ambulance is on it's way."

"Don't-" Tucker coughed. "Don't like hospitals anyways."

And then right before Danny's eyes, Tucker's ghost(soul?) began to rise from his body. He looked around, gaze stopping on Danny.

"Man, this feels so much better."

Tucker looked off to the side, seeing through the brick wall of the building they were next to.

He stood, Danny following him after gently putting Tucker's body back on the ground.

"Tucker! Wait-!"

Danny tried to grab for Tucker's arm, but stumbled as his hand slipped right through.

Danny vaguely heard Sam calling his name, asking why he'd left Tucker on the ground.

Tucker looked over Danny's shoulder at Sam, letting a soft smile fall on his face.

"I'll miss you guys. I love you both. Make sure you tell her that."

And then Tucker turned and walked a step or two before fading from view, crossing into his afterlife.

Danny felt a hand on his shoulder, turning to see Sam. She looked confused, staring at the wall where Tucker disappeared.

"He's gone." Danny whispered. "He left."

Sam's face went blank and tears started forming in her eyes. The paramedics arrived as she pulled Danny into an embrace, weeping for their friend.


	2. Farewell

It was late at night and Vlad could hear Anastasia crying in her room across the hall.

She'd just come in to see if he was alright, and what did Vlad do?

Scare her.

He didn't mean to, but he'd just gotten so.. So _angry!_ He saw red and then the lamp went crashing to the floor.

He could feel more and more of these feelings arise. They were scaring him. There were all these intrusive thoughts about Jack and Maddie and he wanted them out of his head.

Vlad didn't know exactly what happened, but as soon as he was strong enough and at home, he'd started sinking through the floors. He'd end up in random rooms, startling Anastasia and their mom.

Sometimes he'd cackle like a madman. This was when the intrusive thoughts were the worst. One night after he'd calmed down he heard his family discussing it.

Anastasia could definitely tell something was wrong. Being in an accident doesn't suddenly make you mad.

Vlad was worried for their safety, along with the safety of Jack and Maddie. He needed to leave. Get somewhere far away.

He sat up, and realized his sister was no longer crying. He went invisible and walked into the hall and through Anastasia's door.

She'd fallen asleep crying, clutching the stuffed turtle they'd made in second grade to her chest like it was a lifeline.

Vlad stifled a sob with his hand. His sister. He was going to miss her so much. She was the only one who really ever accepted him. Even their mom thought he was kind of quirky.

Vlad walked back to his room and picked up a raggedy old teddy bear. Walking back, he placed it next to Anastasia, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

In the hall again, tangible and visible, Vlad leaned against the door, hand against his mouth and eyes squeezed shut.

He took a few deep breaths, tears still streaming from his eyes.

And vanished.


	3. Barrier

Warnings: torture

It was a rainy night and Jack was being escorted onto the GIW base by two agents. They'd told him they had very important information pertaining to his son, although no elaboration was given over the phone.

Even now the agents held a stony silence, simply walking on either side of him through the corridor.

Everything here felt sterile and cold, much different that his own lab back home. The building was free of any dings and burns that would give it some character.

Soon enough, they reached a locked door. Agent K took his badge and scanned it. The door slid open and there were in a small room with a control panel and another door.

"What does this have to do with Danny again?" Jack asked. They haven't mentioned his son since the phone call.

"We believe a spook has incapacitated your son. We've been running tests on him to get conclusive results."

Jack's gaze snapped to the control panel and all the buttons there. "Running tests on the spook? Or on Danny?"

At this, Agent K scanned his badge again, opening the second door. He swept his arm out, gesturing towards the doorway.

Slowly, Jack made his way over and what he saw made rage boil in his blood.

His son sat inside a containment device, green and red splatters scattered on the floor and walls. He was hunched over, head tucked between his chest and knees.

Turning back to Agent K, he began to yell in his face.

"Why are you holding my son like this? What have you been doing to him?"

"The cell is ecto-proof as your son has been discovered to display ghostly properties. The barrier is for our own protection." Agent K said dryly, a cold air about him when talking about Danny.

"Why would we need protection from my son? He's just a teenager!"

Agent K looked up in the corner of the room where a camera was placed, nodding at it. Soon, the cell began to glow an electric blue color.

Danny uncoiled from his spot on the floor, wrapping his arms around his stomach now instead of his knees. Sweat began to bead on his forehead and he clenched his teeth. As the glow grew brighter, Danny finally broke.

A white ring appeared around his waist, and this ear splitting scream, _wail_, escaped his throat and reverberated around the room.

Soon, Danny was left shaking on the floor, the glow of the contraption still faintly there. The ring finally crossed over Danny's body, leaving a very familiar specter on the ground.

Phantom raised his head, finally making eye contact with Jack. And if it were possible, the fear in Phantom's eyes looked like it increased tenfold.

Jack's tongue was tied, his stomach was in knots. He didn't know if this was really his son, or if Danny was overshadowed somehow.

Before Jack could speak, a small croak could be heard from inside the cell.

"Dad?"

Jack's blood ran cold and his face turned white. The last time he heard his name spoken like that was when Danny woke up in the hospital after the accident.

But this couldn't really Danny, could it? This was Phantom right? The most powerful ghost that resided in Amity Park. His powers have developed at a shocking rate. This could just be a new development.

Right?

But as Jack took a closer look, he could see the way Phantom's hair fell around his face. The way his nose turns up. Even the stitching at the seams of his hazmat suit.

Jack took a shaky voice before whispering.

"Danny?"


	4. Ectoplasm

Hospital lights were flickering, mice could be heard scuttling across the floor. The world seemed gray. This wasn't how the hospital looked the last time he was here.

He sat up, looking around. The walls were covered in grime and none of his usual nurses were around. He stood and hobbled his way out of the room and down the hallway to the receptionist's desk.

When he got there, he rang the bell and noticed the wheely chair was facing away from the desk. After no answer, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Uh, h-hello?"

The chair snapped around and he stumbled back, falling to the floor. That wasn't the receptionist.

It was his sister.

She stared down at him, lights flickering so much they hurt his head. Ectoplasm dripped from her mouth and her electrifying green eyes. She snarled at him and lunged. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the impact.

But nothing happened.

When he opened his eyes back up, she was no longer there and the flickering was to a minimum.

He stood up on shaky legs, and made his way to the elevator. He'd go to the cafeteria and see if anyone was there.

He entered the elevator and pressed the second floor button. The doors whooshed closed. The elevator speakers was playing this haunting little nursery rhyme, notes were out of key and it was slowed down.

Suddenly, the lights shut off and he could see a green reflection on the metal door. Whirling around, the lights turned back on and nothing was there. His heart beat heavily in his chest, and he turned back towards the door. The elevator dinged, and he stepped into the grimey hallway.

Making his way to the cafeteria, he could hear some shuffling all around him. He couldn't tell which direction it was coming from. He made his way towards the empty food counters, where a man stood facing the back wall.

There was no food available and he didn't want to ask for assistance after the last encounter he had. But he was starving.

As soon as he opened his mouth, the man was suddenly in front of him. He grabbed onto his arms, holding him in place as he stared down at him, ectoplasm dripping from his eyes and mouth.

_It was his best friend. _

He tried to pull away, but his friend's grip on him was too strong. They felt like cinder blocks encasing his arms. His friend started to growl.

His eyes squeezed shut and he struggled. Tears began to fall from his eyes, and pleas tumbled from his mouth.

"N-no, what's going on? W-why are you doing this? P-please.."

The sound stopped, but he could still feel the weight on his arms. He opened his eyes, and his friend was gone.

He sank to the ground, pulling his knees to his chest and tucking his head into them. Sobs wracked his body until his chest hurt from crying. He didn't understand what was happening and he wanted to go home.

Suddenly he felt a soft hand on his shoulder, pulling him against another body. He sobbed harder. Was this finally a nurse? Did someone finally find him?

He sniffed and raised his head, turning to look at them but what he saw made him recoil and crawl back a few paces.

That wasn't a nurse.

As he looked at her, that radioactive green filled her eyes and began to drip. It fell down her face like tears. She smiled at him and the glowing substance began to fall from her mouth too. Soon she began to whisper.

"We're here to help you.

"Let us help you.

"You don't want to be alone, do you?"

Two more voices joined in, and he grabbed his hair, pulling. They made their way into his head, banging around until his ears were ringing.

Hands were grabbing him now, pulling his own away from his head, holding them behind his back. Another was on his shoulder, while someone else was caressing his face.

He opened his eyes and saw his friend in front of him. She had that terrifying smile on her face, so terrifying yet so innocent.

Her hand started to glow, and he could see it out of the corner of his eye. He started struggling again, but could not do anything with the man restraining him.

His head began to pound even harder, and his vision filled up with green. He could feel it running through his veins, tearing into his flesh and invading every part of his body. Tears began to fall again, his body convulsed.

And he screamed.

He shot up, eyes opening. He looked around him. He wasn't in the hospital. He was in the abandoned factory he'd been staying in for the past few days. No one was here to hurt him and his friends were fine.

His breaths came out shaky, and when he stood his legs wobbled. Walking over to the cracked window, he looked at the moon shining brightly. The dark inside the factory was peaceful, nothing was flickering and the grime felt more in place here.

He didn't know what that nightmare meant, if it meant anything. But he did know one thing.

He was still a danger to his friends and family.

He needed to get farther away.

He took a deep breath before closing his eyes. A black ring appeared around his waist, traveling across his body until a ghostly young man was left in his place. He jumped up and flew through the roof of the building into the night sky.

Their faces still haunted his mind, and it made flying difficult.

But he'd do anything to make sure they were safe.

Even from himself.


	5. Thin Ice

Paulina had everything she wanted in life. She was the popular girl at school, the Queen B. She had all the boys drooling over her. She even had a best friend she could count on. But there was one thing that she dreaded every day.

Her parents were very conservative. They were one of the people who openly bashed everything, calling liberals sheep and ignoring climate change.

And then they'd found out she was gay.

They periodically checked her search history and looked to see what she's doing online. Paulina hadn't been expecting them to do one again real soon and they found some incriminating sites.

She'd come home from school that day to yelling, screaming, shoving, hair pulling.

Finally, they'd thrown her in her room, grounding her. Paulina's computer was already gone, and it wouldn't be long before they remembered to take her phone as well.

Gasping and hiccuping through her sobs, Paulina dialed a number she'd never thought she'd have to call.

The phone rang.

And rang.

And rang.

It stopped, and Paulina could hear static, before the other person spoke.

"Hello?"

Paulina's heart simultaneously leapt with joy and dropped with dread. She had the right number. But now she had to convince Sam to help her.

"Uh, hi, Sam."

"Paulina?" Sam's voice soured, clearly displeased with who was calling her.

"Please! Don't hang up!"

Silence.

Paulina took a shaky breath.

"You know how to sneak in and out of places, right?"

A pause. "Yeah."

"Okay." A gulp. "Can you come break me out of my house tonight?"

A few heavy seconds went by before Sam spoke again.

"Why? You just make fun of me and my friends."

"I.. I don't… My-"

"Bye, Paulina!"

"No! Please!"

There was no dial tone, no click. Nothing. Tears began to stream down Paulina's face again.

"My parents found out I'm gay. They were screaming and yelling and pulling my hair. I'm not allowed anywhere except for school. They're really conservative, they don't agree with this kind of thing.

"I'm really scared." Paulina whispered.

Sam was still silent, and for a moment Paulina thought she was still going to hang up.

"I'll be there in ten minutes. Barricade the door and start packing."

The line clicked and the dial tone rang through the speaker.

Paulina stared at her phone for a few moments before leaping from her bed. She locked the door handle and looked around for something big enough to block the door. The stand up dresser. She braced her shoulder against it and started pushing with all her might until it was in front of the door. Grabbing her suitcase and backpack, she began stuffing them with clothes. Grabbing things like her wallet and tampons as she saw them.

Soon enough, she could hear clinking at the window. She looked over and saw Sam's face peeking in.

Paulina ran over, tears welling in her eyes again, and opened the window. Sam climbed in and Paulina threw her arms around the other girls neck.

"Thank you!" She whispered.

Sam awkwardly patted her back.

"You're still on thin ice."

They were pulling apart when they heard the door handle jiggle. Paulina gasped, and Sam turned towards the bags on the floor, haphazardly zipping them closed.

Then the jiggling turned into banging, and yelling.

"Paulina! Open the door right now, young lady! I need your phone!"

They turned back towards the window. Sam was throwing the bags out onto the ground, climbing back out onto the ladder. Paulina followed and scrambled down to the bottom. They each picked up a bag and one end of the ladder after folding it in half. They ran about half a block when suddenly Sam turned into some trees.

There sat a floating car thing. One of the Fenton's inventions? Why-

The door opened and Sam dragged the ladder inside, pulling Paulina along with it. As she flopped on the ground, catching her breath, she could see Fenton and Foley at the controls.

Turning to look at Sam, "You told them?!" She hissed.

Sam shrugged. "Using the specter speeder was faster, considering I was across town at Danny's house. Unless you'd rather be in your room?"

Paulina shook her head.

"Besides." Foley said. "We're great at keeping secrets."

Paulina felt unease at that statement, but taking a look around, she could see they meant well.

"Okay."

"Great." Sam said. "You'll be staying at my house, Paulina-"

"What? Why can't I go to Stars house?

Sam gave her a deadpan look, raising an eyebrow. "Wouldn't it be expected for you to run to your best friend? Who's a girl?"

Oh.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Paulina mumbled.

"We'll get you settled in in the guest room. My parents will be asleep when we get there but we'll find some excuse to tell them in the morning."

Paulina nodded and yawned. Her eyes felt droopy. She leaned her head against the wall behind her, closing her eyes. Soon she felt Sam sit beside her and the vehicle started. By the time they got to Sam's house, Paulina was asleep on Sam's shoulder, lightly snoring.


	6. Sunset

Vlad and his newest clone, Danielle, sat atop the roof of his home in Colorado. This is the first time she'd been outside and all day they looked around at plants and bugs and animals. She dragged him every which way, pointing at this thing and then the next.

Now, Vlad watched as Danielle observed the sunset, the fiery colors shining on her awestruck face.

"Where does it go?" She whispered, not looking away.

Vlad chuckled. "It's on it's way to wake up the other side of the world."

She turned and furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Why isn't the sun out for the whole earth?"

"They're facing the opposite way, no light can hit them."

"Oh."

She turned back towards the sun.

"Why is the sunset red?"

"Well, red wavelengths are more common than blues at that point in the-"

Vlad looked at her and was met with a confused look. He coughed.

"The sun's saying a fond farewell. A warm goodbye. Letting you know it'll be back tomorrow."

She looked back out at the sun before raising her hand and waving.

"Goodbye, sun!"

Vlad smiled at her. Then he noticed it.

The telltale sign.

A bead of ectoplasm was rolling down her neck. So far Danielle has lasted longer than the other clones, but she is still not stable. There wouldn't be much time before she started falling apart.

Vlad swallowed the lump in his throat and wrapped an arm around Danielle's shoulders, pulling her to him.

She was the brightest thing Vlad has ever had in his life since the accident. She thought he was the best, her father. She adored him and he adored her.

He rested his head atop hers before waving with his free hand and whispering.

"Goodbye, sun."


	7. Blob Ghost

"How did this even happen?"

"I don't know." Dash wheezed, tears streaming from his eyes. He looked at Sam before turning his focus back to the blob ghost in front of him.

"_Look how adorable he is though._"

The blob ghost hissed at Dash, making him chortle out side-splitting laughs again.

"What?" Dash cooed. "The all mighty Phantom can't handle being an adorable blob ghost?"

Danny growled and Dash began scratching his forehead.

"Danny, I think you might be even cuter as a blob ghost. Not that you weren't cute before but- OW!"

Dash yanked his hand back, cradling his finger, before sending a glare at Danny.

The blob ghost let out a high pitched whoop.

"Fuck you, man." Dash shot back.

Sam rubbed the bridge of her nose, eyes squeezed shut before looking back at Dash.

"What were you guys doing when it happened?"

Both Dash and Danny stilled, glancing at each other before Danny made a gurgling noise and Dash spoke.

"We were playing croquet!"

Danny turned away from Sam, glaring at Dash.

"Croquet?" Sam deadpanned.

"Yep! Just a normal, peaceful game of croquet."

"Dash, any game you guys play where you're competing against each other is anything but peaceful."

"Well, uh." Dash said. "Croquet is?"

Sam rubbed her hands over her face, groaning. "Do I even wanna know?"

Both Dash and Danny stared at her, unmoving.

"Okay. So croquet. Did anything happen while you were playing croquet? Did you accidentally make a wish? Was Danny's dad around somewhere with an invention? Did Technus have another magical remote?"

"No. I think the only thing that was around was one of his parents.. New inventions. That he, uh, had in his pocket.. While we were playing croquet."

Sam and Dash's faces paled, turning their head to face Danny, who let out a questioning hum.

"Danny." Sam said. "The invention is in your pocket. And your pockets don't exist right now."

Danny looked between the two of them, eyes going wide. Turning back towards Dash, he let out a high pitched screech.

"What?! Why is this my fault?!" Dash exclaimed.

Another high pitched trill came from Danny's mouth.

"Well, I'll have you know-"

"Guys!" Sam yelled. "Bickering like an old married couple isn't gonna help us right now!"

"We are not like an old married couple!" Dash exclaimed, scandalized.

Danny let out an affirmative hum.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. But I think we should go to Danny's house and see if we can find another one of that invention."

Dash nodded. "Are we gonna go now? I don't think Mr. and Mrs. Fenton are supposed to be back until like, ten o'clock."

"Yep." Sam said. "We'll go now."

They raced down the stairs, narrowly avoiding Dash's mom.

"So, if we don't find anything at Fentonworks what are we going to do then?" Dash asked nervously.

"We could always try the Fenton Ghost Catcher. Danny had the invention in his human form so if he goes through it then theoretically the invention should come out too."

Dash looked at Danny as he hummed in a questioning tone.

"What if the ghost catcher messes the invention up? Since it uses ectoplasm to function?" Dash asked.

"Oh." Sam's shoulders slumped for a moment before perking back up. "But the rest of it should still be functional, right? We'd just have to get Danny's parents to fix that part and merge Danny back once they fix it."

Dash nodded. "Okay. We got a gameplan."

Soon they were making their way through the front door of Fentonworks where they heard the sounds of tinkering from the lab.

"Dash." Sam hissed. "I thought you said they weren't going to be home for awhile."

"That's what I thought." Dash whispered.

They walked downstairs, Danny now hidden inside a pocket of Dash's letterman jacket, to see Mr. and Mrs. Fenton digging through boxes and tools. They looked up as the two made it to the bottom of the stairs.

"Hi, kids!" Maddie exclaimed cheerfully. "What brings you down here?"

"Oh, nothing." Sam said, crossing her arms behind her back, rolling on the balls of her feet. "We just wanted to see how you guys were doing."

"We're doing fantastic! Our panel for today got cancelled, but that means we can spend more time working in the lab!"

As Sam and Mrs. Fenton chatted, Dash looked around the lab. In one of the corners, he spotted the Fenton Ghost Catcher and nudged his pocket. Danny peeked out and looked around before flying off in that general direction.

Suddenly Mrs. Fenton was in front of Dash, pinching his cheek, startling him.

"Where is our boy, Danny?" She said fondly.

"Oh, you know." Dash said. "Around. He was right behind us. Sometimes he disappears so quickly it's almost like he can go invisible."

Dash looked over Mrs. Fentons shoulder after he was done speaking only to see Sam glaring at him.

_What the fuck._ She mouthed.

Dash shrugged his shoulders just as a crash could be heard from the corner of the lab, drawing everyone's attention in that direction.

There Danny lay on the floor groaning.

"Danny!" Mrs. Fenton exclaimed, running over. "You need to be more careful, dear!"

"Yeah, yeah." Danny said, wiping his pants off. "Tell me about it, dude."

Sam groaned.

"So." Danny started. "I think I totally squished this when I fell. It might need to be fixed."

In Danny's hand was a small, square machine with a few different buttons on it. One side was dented and it was missing it's slight green glow.

"It's alright, sweety. We'll have it fixed in a jiffy. You guys go hang out upstairs and wait for dinner."

They started to head out of the lab and Mrs. Fenton shouted something else at them.

"And make sure to invite Tucker, too!"

"_Shit_." Sam said. "We forgot to tell Tucker."

They made their way up into Danny's room where they were greeted with a Super Blob Danny. He was clad in a tiny, white bedsheet and was looking at Sam, letting out a deep trill.

"For the last time! I am not wearing primary colors!" She yelled.

As she called Tucker, Danny smacked Dash on the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"_Oh, we were playing croquet. Totally normal croquet, man._" Danny mocked.

Super Danny floated over, screeching in Dash's face as well.

"What? You too?" Dash said, arms splayed out. "What else was I supposed to say?"

"Dude, you could have literally said anything else besides croquet."

"Oh, what, like two snake boat racing?"

"Guys!" Sam yelled.

All three boys paused and looked at her, Danny's mouth still open to shoot back a rebuttal.

"Twat." Danny whispered. Dash gasped.

"Oh my lord." Sam mumbled. "Look, Tucker's on his way. Hopefully the invention will be fixed by then."

The four of them sat there, Dash and Danny flicking each other in the face, for about fifteen minutes before they heard the front door open and shut. Boots made their way up the stairs and a laughing Tucker opened the bedroom door.

"Croquet?" He wheezed.

Danny shot up, pointing a finger at Tucker and turning to Dash. "_See?!_"

"Okay, okay." Dash said, hands in a placating position. "Next time I'll say wife carrying."

Danny pounced, knocking Dash to the floor where they started wrestling one another. Sam looked at Tucker.

"They've been doing this for the past two hours."

"Aw c'mon Sam." Tucker said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "You love it."

Dash and Danny kept up with their shenanigans for another half hour while Sam and Tucker observed before they were all called downstairs for dinner.

"Food!" Danny yelled. "Totally gnarly!"

They made their way downstairs where the other three Fenton's were already gathered. Extra chairs were pulled up and the food was piled in the center. Everyone sat down and dished out the food before Sam spoke.

"Soo.. Did you guys fix that invention yet?"

Jazz squinted at Sam, shoving a forkful of food in her mouth.

"Yep!" Maddie said. "All it really needed was a refill of ectoplasm. Though I don't know how Danny falling on it could have done that. There wasn't a trace of ectoplasm left in it!"

Sam chuckled. "Yeah, that's-"

Tucker yelped, ripping his hand out from underneath the table glaring at his lap. Super Danny was seated there, mouth open wide in hopes of a piece of pancake. Tucker cut a piece off and stuck it to the blob ghost's forehead, who let out a trill in anger.

"Tucker, are you alright over there?" Mrs. Fenton asked.

He looked up to see the whole table staring at him. Dash was trying not to wheeze again while Sam was glaring at his lap.

"Yep, Mrs. Fenton. I'm feeling dandy! I'm just super excited about these pancakes."

"Are you sure, dear? Because-"

"SO." Jazz interjected. "Why did your panel get cancelled today?"

Mr. Fenton rolled his eyes. "I guess there was some_ incident_ involving one of our inventions that was in the back room. Apparently it exploded and they didn't like it. Weapons explode on me all the time! Do you hear me complaining?"

Dinner went on like this for awhile, chatting about ghosts and covering up Super Danny. Soon enough, dinner was over and the plates were washed. The kids went downstairs into the lab as the other three Fentons put the food away into the fridge.

"Okay." Sam said. "We'll merge you back first, and then use the invention again, alright?"

"Sweet." Danny said as Super Blob Danny gave an approving hum.

Dash picked up the Fenton Ghost Catcher, after Sam and Tucker made sure it was the right side, and brought it down over Danny. He merged back into one and a single blob ghost was left. He shrieked at Sam.

"Alright, alright. Hold on."

She pointed the invention at Danny and pressed the button. He turned to ectoplasm and morphed until his human self was left.

His eyes were squeezed shut and he cracked one open, looking at his hands. They opened wide and he smiled.

"Haha! Yes!"

Sam smiled and Tucker whooped.

"I still think you were cuter as a blob ghost." Dash teased.

Danny glared at him. He formed a snowball and hurled it at Dash's face.

"_Hey!_" Dash exclaimed.

Danny smirked.

"What did that hurt, Dash? Are you not manly enough to handle a snowball?"

Dash puffed out his chest, hand son his hips. "I'm manly enough to handle anything!"

Dash picked Danny up and threw him over his shoulder, racing back ups the stairs as Danny pounded on his back.

They set up the tv and put in Terminatra. After a few more movies, all four of them were asleep. Mrs. Fenton grabbed some blankets for them and turned off the tv. The night was finally silent, free of banter and teasing.


	8. Broken

_ Clink._

_ Clink_

_ Clink._

Destruction covered every inch of the city. The sound of pebbles falling onto exposed pipes traveled through the air. There was no one left to find. The search parties went through all the rubble, but there weren't any bodies to be found.

There were no rats, insects. There were no birds.

Everything was just gone.

_ Drip. _

_ Drip._

_ Drip._

Pipes were leaking, destroyed in whatever havoc had wreaked the place. Raindrops rolled down windows and dripped off of scorched trees. The sky was gray, covered in clouds.

No one would be coming to fix it.

_Hum._

_ Whoosh._

_ Rustle._

The dead walked the streets unseen. Hobbling to and from the remnants of buildings. They'd start at the charred high school in the morning, leaving around three in the afternoon to head to the decimated fast food joint a few blocks away. Others would head to the skeletal office buildings, burnt retail stores, creaky homes. It was as if they didn't realize that life had ended in their town.

It had been years since the last living soul set foot inside the city limits. At first, there was just this feeling. Of being watched. But soon it became more uncomfortable, harder to breath. Eventually people were terrified of going there for construction jobs. Some kids even dared one another to go in.

They never came back out.

Nobody knew what happened to the town. Just that one day it had been eradicated. Some say they had seen a weird glow coming from the obnoxious building when they were passing through the night before. But now, no one dared go within a mile of the city. The closest they ever got were the broken signs greeting travelers.

_Amity Park. _

_ A n̶̬̍ͅi̶̥̋͝c̸̹͗̄e̴͍͋ ̶̝̔́p̷̞̠̓̊l̸̡̗͐̌a̸̯̋̂c̷̮̋e̴̠̘͒͐ ̵̢̿͑t̵͙͍̋̎ȍ̷̲͈͠ live. _


	9. World Building

Adamsville, Wisconsin.

It was a fairly haunted town in the midwest. People always said that they could see spooks walking down Main St. during the day. During the night, lights could be seen flickering and things would be in a different spot the next morning. But that was all harmless.

Most of the ghosts in town were. They were people who used to live there and still had family around. So most of them were content to just simply let them know they were there. Play silly pranks.

But there's a ghost in the abandoned house on Raven Rd. who isn't content with it's afterlife.

Old Man McConald had been a recluse in life. He didn't have any family left and no one in town went to visit him. He was one of those stereotypical old guys who'd come out to yell at you if you were on his lawn.

He died ten years ago, when most of the teenagers were too young to remember him. Now, they dared each other to go in and play bloody mary in the dirty bathroom there. Most kids come out screaming. One kid never came out at all.

That didn't stop them though. Some people just thought those were rumors. Made up by their parents in order to scare them.

This is what Vlad and Anastasia thought. What's so different about this ghost compared to the rest in town?

So they went to the abandoned house, wandered around a bit. At first, nothing happened.

Until they got to the second floor. The air chilled, and a breeze blew by. Anastasia's skin prickled and she turned around to see a large ghost towering above her and Vlad. She screamed, backing away. Her feet got tangled and she tripped and fell.

Vlad turned around at Anastasia's scream and froze at the sight. This was the largest ghost he's ever seen. His eyes were a glowing white and energy boiled off of him. Then, a growl permeated the air and as the ghost started swiping at them, Vlad yanked Anastasia off the floor and dragged her down the stairs.

Vlad could hear the ghost banging into the walls as it chased after them. Old picture frames crashed to the ground. Dust was kicked up into the air. The ghost was right on their heels as they made it through the front door.

And then it was gone.

After that, Vlad's trust in the specter's around town diminished. If that old guy could turn into that thing, why couldn't everyone else?

As for Anastasia, every time a ghost was near she recognized that uncomfortable prickling sensation. It made goosebumps rise and her heart race. But she still tried to believe the others were good.

Then years later, Anastasia was traveling. Her and Oliver decided to go on a little vacation and they had to pass through some big cities. There was one in particular though that sent shivers down her spine and brought back the prickling sensation that had stayed dormant since they left Adamsville.

Amity Park, Ohio.


	10. Pet

Jazz was back at Spike's vet office. The bell rang out alerting him to her presence. She put her bag down and went into the back to find him.

After walking down the hallway and rounding the corner, Jazz found him in front of one of the kennels.

"Hey, Spike." She said. "Are you ready for lunch?"

Spike turned around to face her, but Jazz didn't hear his reply. She was looking at the animal in the cage. It was a small, tortoiseshell cat. Jazz walked up to the cage looking at it.

Then suddenly the cage was opening back up and Jazz turned to see Spike looking at her, smiling.

"He's a new guy. Somebody found him down an alleyway so they brought him here. He's up for adoption."

Jazz's expression of awe turned in one of excitement with the biggest smile on her face.

"Can I, Spike? Can I adopt him?"

He chuckled. "I'm not stopping you."

Jazz squealed and picked the cat out of his cage. He was purring loudly at the attention Jazz was giving him.

"Okay Jazz. For now we'll leave him here. Because I assume you have approximately zero cat supplies, right?"

Jazz nodded sheepishly and placed the cat back inside. He looked at her with doe eyes and mrowed. Jazz waved goodbye as her and Spike left. She grabbed her bag and they exited the building, Spike locking the door behind them.

"Okay!" Spike called, pointing down the street. "To the mall!"

When they got there they went straight to a pet store that Jazz didn't even know existed. They browsed through all different kinds of cat foods, Spike telling her which ones were healthier and why. They looked at cute food bowls and floor mats. They even got matching bowtie collars for Jazz's cat and Princess.

They quick grabbed some subs before heading back to the vet office. Once inside they filled out all the paperwork and Jazz's cat and Princess were hanging out with them in the lobby.

"So." Spike said, placing a stray piece of lettuce in his mouth. "What are you gonna name him?"

Jazz looked at the cat who in turned rubbed his head against her face, rumbling.

"I think he seems like an Arthur."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "King Arthur? Are you trying to one up Princess over here?"

Jazz chuckled. "No, I just think it fits, Sir Spikelot."

Spike took a bite of his sandwich. "I bet you're right."

They sat there for awhile until they finished their food. Then they hugged and said goodbye.

This time when Jazz left, both the bell at the top of the door and the one on Arthur's collar rang.


	11. Water

Danny had the ability to defy gravity any time he wanted. He was a ghost. He could fly up into the clouds or dive under the earth's surface.

But there was something different about how water defies gravity.

As a ghost, Danny was weightless. He didn't have to worry about sinking or drowning. Or falling from the sky. But in the water as a human, he could feel himself sinking. Feel his hair gliding around his head.

Some people might think it'd make him uncomfortable. Danny actually thought it was kind of nice. What better way to remind him that he's still human than to float around inside a pool?

It grounded him, relaxed him. Even in human form he didn't have a lot of need to breathe, so he didn't have to worry about drowning. It was like his problems didn't exist under the water.

But they did. He was reminded of them by muted speaking and the rippling of waves hitting him under the water. He opened his eyes and looked up to see a blurry black spot. He pushed himself up and broke free from the water.

He took an instinctual breath as he surfaced and brushed back the hair from his face. Looking up he could see Sam smiling at him, Tucker was standing behind her on his PDA.

"What's up?" He asked, sticking a finger in his ear to try and get the water out.

"We were wondering if you wanted to go to the movies." Sam said.

"The new ghost movie comes out today and we were gonna go make fun of it." Tucker smirked, holding up his PDA to show the title of the movie.

_Nightmare on Amity Road._

"That movies gonna blow chunks." Danny said, floating out of the pool. "Count me in."

"Yes!" Sam and Tucker yelled, high fiving.

Just as much as his friends could remind him of his problems, they could also help him forget in the best of ways.

He wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.


	12. Shapeshift

Sam was reading a book on her bed when Danny walked into her room, looking dazed.

"Wow." She said, turning a page. "Decided to knock at the door today huh? What's up?"

Sam looked up to see Danny still staring at the ground.

"Danny? What's wrong?"

He blankly looked up at her, but at her voice he shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

"Sam." Danny whispered.

"I can shapeshift."

"Woah." Sam whispered. "Have you tested it out much?"

Danny shook his head.

"Can I see?"

Danny gave a little nod, and grabbed the hem of his shirt, hands shaking a little. He started pulling it towards his chest. Sam's brows furrowed.

"Danny, what are you-"

Then he had his shirt lifted over his head, hiding his face. His flat chest was exposed and-

Wait. His flat chest?

Sam stood up and rushed over to Danny. There were no breasts. No binder. Nothing.

He had a flat chest.

"Danny?"

Danny pulled his shirt far enough off of his head to look at Sam, eyes filled with tears. He was still shaking.

"I, I always thought, 'what if I'm faking it? What if I'm not trans? Am I just self conscious?'" Danny took in a shuddering breath. "But then I figured out I could do this, and this was the first thing that came to mind. This was the only thing I even wanted to do."

Danny let his shirt fall back down around his waist and ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you know how validating this is? How good it feels? I feel like I'm flying right now."

Sam placed her hands on Danny shoulders. "It's amazing."

Danny chuckled, smiling. "Yeah, it is. It really, really is."

Wrapping an arm around Danny's shoulders, Sam brought their heads closer together before smirking mischievously.

"Wanna go tell Tucker?"

Danny smirked back at her. "Who did you have in mind?"

"Oh I don't know. Himself? We can pretend we don't see him?"

Danny nodded. "We can tease him with Nasty Burger."

Sam let out a soft 'muahaha' and they were off.


	13. History

Danny sat in history class bored out of his mind. He could barely comprehend what the teacher was talking about, and he wouldn't remember it by tomorrow anyways. He could be making much better use of his time if he wasn't here.

Like sleeping. He could be sleeping right now.

But he can't do it in class because then he'd get detention and he'd be stuck at school even longer.

Danny looked at the clock and groaned.

It'd only been five minutes since he last checked the time.

He slid down in his seat and hung his head over the back where he was greeted with Wes glaring at him. Danny gave him a smug smile and waggled his fingers in a wave over his shoulder. Wes ripped out a piece of notebook paper and threw it at Danny's face. Danny shrugged and sat back up in his seat.

Danny sent out a duplicate to stand invisibly behind Wes. Danny tapped his shoulder and watched the boy double take when he saw no one there. Ignoring it, Wes went back to his notes.

"Pst, Wes." Danny's duplicate whispered.

Wes's head shot up to look at Danny, who was still facing forward with his head in his hand. Wes threw another paper ball at Danny's head.

Danny's duplicate went and picked the ball of the ground and walked back over to Wes, grabbing his wrist and placing it back in his hand and patting it before letting go. Wes stared at his hand in horror.

"Fenton what the fuck." He whispered.

"What's wrong, Wes? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"How are you doing that?! You're over there! You're not even looking at me!"

"Isn't that the detectives job to figure out? You tell me, Wes."

Wes groaned and placed his face in his hands.

"I hate you."

Suddenly, Wes was being picked up around the waist and floated above the heads of their classmates. When Wes passed Danny he saw the smirk on the other boys face.

"Put me down Fenton!"

"What do you mean, Wes? I'm right here. How could I, a perfectly normal human child, possibly be up there?"

Their classmates were gaping at the spectacle before Dash started shouting.

"Yeah, _Phantom_, how could Fenton be doing anything? You got all the ghost powers right there."

"I'm not Phantom!" Wes barked.

Then Wes was falling. He landed clumsily on his feet before stomping over to Danny and pointing a finger in his face.

"I don't know what you did, but I'm gonna find out."

Danny smirked and sank back down in his chair, eyes closed.

"Can't wait for it, Weston."

Then the bell rang.


	14. Accident

All Jazz could feel was pain.

It felt like lightning bolts were coursing their way along her skin, pulsing in time with her heartbeat.

And then the pain was made a hundred times worse when someone touched her arm.

"Jazz?" They whispered. "Jazz is that you? Are you okay?"

Jazz finally cracked her eyes open and found Spike leaning over her, tears streaming down his face. She tried to sit up and hissed.

"Everything hurts, Spike."

He nodded. "I know, but we have a more pressing issue right now."

Spike took Jazz's hazmatted hand and held it in front of her face. Her eyebrows furrowed. The black gloves of her jumpsuit were no longer there.

Now they were a stark white.

Not only that, but the red part of her suit was now an electric blue.

"S-spike? What happened?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. You look like a ghost now."

The front door opened and shut upstairs and footsteps could be heard.

Spike's head shot up and he looked back down at Jazz with fear in his eyes.

"Jazz, do you know if you can change back?"

"What? If I'm a ghost how would I be able to change back?"

"I don't know! But if you look like a ghost and your parents come down here what are they going to do?"

Neither of them spoke for a few moments until they heard more noise coming from upstairs, sending a spark of anxiety through both of them.

Jazz squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated. She concentrated on whatever she thought represented living things. Sun. Warmth. Laughter. Love-

"Jazz hurry up! Someone's coming downstairs!"

"I'm trying!" She yelled.

Jazz focused on the feeling of the lab floor beneath her. The feeling of her chest expanding and compressing. The feeling of Spike's warm hand against her own.

At that, something pulled at a warmth kept in her chest and a flash of light appeared around her waist, leaving behind her familiar jumpsuit. But now she felt a million times heavier. Her eyes were tired. She fell back against Spike and the last thing she saw were her parents running towards her from the stairs.

She could feel herself being picked up as she succumbed to the darkness.


	15. Peace

The trio laid under a night sky filled with stars. They'd just had another long, grueling battle and were beyond exhausted. They do this every once in awhile, but now when they did it they were restricted to the Fenton's backyard.

They'd fallen asleep in the middle of the park _one time_.

Stars weren't always the easiest thing to see in Amity Park with it being a big city and all. But sometimes they got lucky.

The three laid side by side, all varying degrees of tired. Tucker was nearly asleep on Danny's shoulder and Danny was already full on snoring. Sam was tired, but still awake. Pondering.

Considering what the three of them did in their free time, they were very lucky. They've always gone back home with minimal injuries, minus Tucker's broken leg and Danny's occasional stitching. They've always gone home alive and Sam was grateful for that.

She didn't really want to think of what would happen if she didn't go home alive.

But enough of that. Despite the battle earlier today, Sam felt good. She felt happy and safe and needed.

She felt at peace.

She knew this feeling wouldn't last, but she also knew it would eventually come back. These boys beside her helped make sure of that.

Sam yawned and took Tuckers glasses off, placing them on one of the garden rocks. Tucker made a noise of thanks before yawning. Sam rolled on her side and wrapped an arm around Danny's waist. She groped around for Tucker's hand. Once she found it she linked their fingers together.

Yeah, battle after battle drained them and took its toll, but it was building them into strong people. They were on their best path. There would be ups and downs.

But even with the constant hardships they faced, Sam wouldn't change anything for the world.

Finally her eyes fell shut and her breathing deepened.

After awhile the back door quietly opened and Jazz stepped out with a large blanket. She place it over the three before tiptoeing back inside.


	16. Fire

In the distance Amity Park was ablaze.

Trees were charred and buildings were now a fiery skeleton of what they were before.

Danny watched the town crumble. His home fell apart, the big neon sign crashing to the ground. The roof of the high school collapsing. The observatory turning to ash.

He heard a cough behind him and turned to see Dash Baxter burnt and covered in soot behind him.

"Aren't you going to do anything?!"

Danny turned back towards the fire calmly.

"No."

"Why not?! You have the power to stop this! Why won't you-"

"No one wanted to help me when I was living." Danny whispered. "My secret was revealed and no one wanted to help protect me. I was just some ghost freak. No one loved Phantom anymore. No one cared."

"That's not true." Dash said quietly.

"Oh really?" Danny yelled. "My parents barely wanted anything to do with me. Everyone at school hated me more than before. Do you know what kind of opportunity that gave the GIW?

"No one reported me missing, no one went to look for me. How are they gonna find a ghost kid? He surely couldn't have been kidnapped, right? He could just go intangible and break free. No one came to help me."

Danny took in a deep breath before shutting his eyes. "So, no. I'm not going to help them."

Dash stared at Danny before crawling over and leaning against his back.

"Fine. If you're not going to help us you can be my refrigerator until this is over."

They sat there for a long time. Dash fell asleep a couple times only to awake to the fire growing closer. The next time he woke though, the landscape around them was black and charred, flames gone.

"Danny?" Dash said. He turned around to see a translucent Phantom.

"Danny!"

He opened his eyes at his name and looked around at the town. Danny smiled and made eye contact with Dash as the last ember floated past, going out.

With that, Danny faded from existence alongside his beloved town.


	17. Finals

Danny flopped down on the couch and stared tiredly at the blank television in front of him. He'd just had one of the craziest weeks in his life, and that was saying something.

He just finished up his second year of college and between homework and finals and the occasional ghost he was exhausted.

All he wanted to do was watch tv. But he couldn't find the remote anywhere. He turned his head around. Craned his neck to look over the back of the couch but he didn't see it.

He stared back at the tv again before letting out a big yawn.

"I'll just rest my eyes for a moment." Danny said. "And then I'll get up and look for the remote."

A minute passed. Then five. Twenty. An hour.

After about two hours of Danny "resting his eyes," Jazz came home to find him snoring, sprawled out on the couch. She smiled before heading upstairs to the hall closet. She found Danny's old, soft astronaut blanket and tiptoed back downstairs to throw it over him.

After that, Jazz bent down to crawl around on the floor and see where the remote went to.

There it was. Kicked under the couch with all the dust bunnies and tiny semi-sentient ghost blobs that lived under the furniture. Jazz picked it up and dusted it off, leaving it on the arm of the couch by Danny.

Before heading upstairs to work on her own final projects, Jazz brushed Danny's hair back and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

She knew how much Danny struggled in high school due to the accident, ghosts, and other kids at school and she was proud of what he was doing today. He was in the middle of getting a degree in engineering and biological science. She hoped he was proud of himself too.

He was truly on his way to achieving his dream of becoming an astronaut.


	18. Eavesdropping

Danny was sneaking into the lab when he heard his parents discussing something quietly around one of the tables.

_It's 3am, they're supposed to be sleeping._

He goes invisible and floats closer to where they're standing and listens.

"This shouldn't be possible! The components of this sample shouldn't be able to coexist with one another!" Maddie whispered, looking through a microscope at a slide with a sample on it.

"Get a new sample and check again?" Jack suggested.

"No, no. This is the third one. We've tested each sample multiple times and have even compared it to our own blood. It doesn't make any sense."

Maddie began jotting notes down. She sees something and her eyes widen and she starts scribbling all sorts of things down.

Jack sees this and approaches her, looking over her shoulder at the notepad. "What is it, Mads?"

"We've gotten samples of Phantom's ectoplasm before, right?" She asked, still scribbling.

"Yeah. Plenty of times. Why?"

"Phantom's ectoplasm also has components in it that shouldn't be able to coexist. But we never figured out why. But I wonder what the samples would look like compared to one another."

Danny's heart stopped.

They were talking about him.

They were talking about both his blood and ectoplasm.

His parents went about setting up the necessary machines and equipment. Then they took two samples from the fridge and put them through the machines. Notes were scribbled down and results were printed out.

Maddie picked up one of the papers and her eyes widened.

"Jack. Look at this."

Jack walked over to the Maddie and the sheet she was holding. His eyes widened and he grabbed the paper from Maddie's grasp.

"What? How is this possible? They're an exact match."

"Except opposite. The amount of ectoplasm in the blood is the same amount of blood in the ectoplasm. It's the same with the copper and iron markers in both too."

"So then Danny-?"

"Is Phantom."

Danny's fingers went numb and his head spun. He let out a choked noise before covering his mouth and looking at his parents.

They were looking around the lab, Maddie's hand poised over the handle of her gun.

Danny sprang up and flew through the ceiling and out of the house. He couldn't stay there.

He had to get away.


	19. Hands

"I've caused so much destruction already. You've seen what I could be capable of. Why shouldn't I find a way to get rid of these powers?"

Danny was laying on the floor of his room, still recovering from the whole CAT thing. He'd actually had to watch his friends and family get blown up. Tucker couldn't ever imagine having to see that.

But he was here now and he had to make Danny see some reason.

"Look, Danny. Do you know how much good you're doing? Sure, you lose sleep and get in trouble at school-"

"Not helping, Tuck."

"-but you're protecting people. You're a teenager protecting the town from dangerous ghostly enemies not because it's a chore or homework. But because you wanted to."

Tucker reached over to Danny and grabbed one of his hands.

"See these hands? They've saved so many lives. They can turn people invisible in the face of a predator or turn them intangible when something's about to fall on them. Yeah, these hands have high fived me into oblivion before but they do more good than evil. And neither of those times were actually your fault."

Danny smiled at Tucker and squeezed his hand. "Thanks, Tuck."

"No problem, man. That's what friends are for, right?"

Danny nodded and after a moment Tucker laid down next to him. They both stared up at the stars glued to the ceilings, gaze traveling all over the space memorabilia in the room.

After awhile the door opened and closed and Sam stood above them, looking down at them with a questioning expression on her face.

"What are you guys doing?"

Tucker shrugged. "Relaxing. Thinking. Being."

Sam bent down and laid on the other side of Danny. Together they basked in just living in the moment. The quiet, still, peaceful moment.

Just being for a little bit.


	20. Music

Warning: self deprecation, angst, mentions of dissection

Maddie sat on the floor holding a little Danny in her lap. They looked up at the stars they had just put up and Maddie started singing.

"If you go out of this world today

You're sure of a big surprise

If you go out of this world today

You'd better go in disguise."

_Danny fell out of the portal, smoking. He could barely stand and when he looked at his hands, his gloves were the wrong color. Panic filled his veins and he looked up at his friends to see fear written across their face. _

_He stood shakily and walked over to a reflective screen on the wall of the lab. He had snow white hair and glowing green eyes. _

"_Guys?" He whispered._

"_What happened?"_

Danny giggled and flung his arms up, beaming at his mom. She bopped his nose and continued singing.

"For every ghost that ever there was

Will gather there for certain, because

Today's the day the wretched ghosts have their picnic."

"_Ghosts exist?! They really exist?!" Danny whisper yelled in his room. Him, Sam and Tucker had just escaped his dad's clutches and were hiding. _

"_What did you think happened to you when you fell through the floor, Danny?" Sam asked._

"_I don't know! Maybe I just got hit with radioactive waste! Not ectoplasm! I didn't even really know if ectoplasm was real or not!"_

Danny started singing along with his mom. He was humming and making gibberish noises, clapping his hands in excitement. Maddie brushed a strand of hair behind his ear and he giggled.

"If you go out of this world today

You'd better not go alone

It's pretty out of the world today

But safer to stay at home."

_Blast after blast pelted Danny from behind. But this time it wasn't any government agency or malevolent ghosts hunting him. _

_It was his own parents._

_They were chasing after him, shooting at him over and over. Soon Sam's voice could be heard over the Fenton Phone's and he made a sharp left into an alley where Sam and Tucker were waiting. _

_Once his feet hit the ground, the three of them collapsed in a heap, Sam and Tucker's arms wrapped around Danny. He transformed and then seconds later his parents ran into the alley. _

"_Danny, sweetie! Are you alright? What happened?" Maddie said, lowering her gun and racing towards Danny. _

"_Nothing, I'm fine. _

"_Can we just go home?"_

Now Danny was getting sleepy. His eyes were drooping, his head was lolling to the side. But he kept startling awake when Maddie started a new verse, a soft smile on his face.

"For every ghost that ever there was

Will gather there for certain, because

Today's the day the wretched ghosts have their picnic."

_You're a freak! Not a ghost, not a boy. Who cares for a thing like you?_

_I'm inevitable. _

_A ghost trying to fit in with humans?_

_Loser. _

_Nerd. _

_A creepy little boy with creepy little powers. _

_Baby. _

_Whelp._

_Danny was prey to everyone surrounding him. The bullies at school. The ghosts around town. His parents at home. He didn't fit in anywhere. He wasn't safe anywhere._

_What was he going to do?_

Maddie picked Danny up and carried him to his bed, placing him down. She pulled up the star covered blankets to his chin.

"Every wretched ghost, thats been bad

Is sure of a treat today

There lots of wonderful things to do

And wonderful tests to try."

_Danny woke groggily to a blinding light shining into his face from above. Where was he? He couldn't have fallen asleep outside, could he? The lights in his room weren't this bright._

_He tried to sit up but found his wrists and ankles restrained. He began to panic and thrash when he heard his mom walk down the stairs and into the lab. She headed to one of the tables and started moving and inspecting tools._

_The whirr of a saw came to life and Danny couldn't choke back his sob._

"Beyond the clouds, where nobody sees

They'll hide and seek as long as they please

Today's the day the wretched ghosts have their picnic."

_His head was groggy, spinning. There were three Maddie's standing above him. He wanted to throw up and cry and scream and yell but he couldn't do anything._

_His eyes fell shut and his core gave out. The white ring appeared around his waist and traveled along his body._

"_Danny? Danny! How- No! No, no, no, no!"_

_Everything turned black._

Danny was asleep with a smile on his face, clutching the stuffed rocket ship he got for his birthday. Maddie leaned down and kissed him on his forehead.

"_Today's the day the wretched ghosts have their picnic."_


	21. Crossover

A group of teens were running around the park. It was getting dark out but it would be a warm summer night. Two boys were sitting off to the side watching their friends run around and have fun.

"Tucker?" The short boy with slicked back hair asked.

"Yeah, Eddy?"

Eddy fiddled with his hands nervously before asking a question.

"How'd you get the courage to tell Danny about your feelings?"

Tucker looked down at Danny running around with Sam and the other Eds. Danny was discreetly using his ghost powers to appear in different places, thoroughly confusing both Double D and Ed. He shrugged.

"I mean, we're best friends. We've known each other for so long. We share everything and trust each other so much. It was mostly just a matter of figuring out if Danny felt the same way because that boy is so oblivious."

Eddy chuckled and then frowned again. "Do you have any suggestions at least? I wanna tell Double D how I feel but I'm so terrified. I don't know how he'll react, what his opinions on this are. I don't even wanna think about our parents. His parents don't really like me-"

Tucker waved away Eddy's words. "Eddy, how long have you known Double D?"

"I don't know.. Probably close to ten years?"

"Has he ever left your side in those ten years?"

"He almost did once… But other than that no." Eddy whispered.

"Okay so." Tucker started. "We have this boy, who is your polar opposite, who's stayed by your side for years even though you're one of the most unbearable people in your neighborhood?"

"Hey! I am not the most unbearable!"

"My point still stands. Nothing has swayed him to make the decision to leave you behind. Even when he almost did, something changed his mind. I don't think something like this is gonna push him away."

Eddy looked over at the other kids on the playground. Sam and Ed were fighting over which direction the mary go round was going in while Danny and Double D were discussing something quietly.

"How do you know?" Eddy whispered.

Double D looked up at where Tucker and Eddy sat, waving happily.

"I just have a good feeling about it."


	22. Dreams

It was late into the night and the town was asleep. All except for three teenagers who were having a great time.

"Sam.. Sam do it again." Danny wheezed clutching his stomach.

Sam stood up and shook her arms out before adopting a very feminine stance.

"Hi I'm Paulina. I'm in love with the ghost boy and he's in love with me!" She twirled and fumbled, almost falling onto the floor. "Don't mind that news article! I was totally not following him for three days!"

The three of them laughed and Sam sat back down between them, picking up her drink and taking a swig.

"Danny- Daniel James Fenton." Tucker said. "What do you have to say about the heinous actions committed by Paulina Sanchez against you?"

Danny gasped and held a hand up against his chest. "Mr. News Reporter! You've blown my secret!" Danny leaned down and whispered in Tucker's face. "Bad."

"Guys.. guys." Sam slurred. "You wanna know what rad thing my parents bought last week?"

The boys looked at her with wide eyes and responded in unison. "What?"

"A hot tub."

"A hot tub?!"

"Let's go try it out!"

With that, the trio gathered up their alcohol and stumbled downstairs and into the backyard. Sam started up the hot tub and soon they were climbing in fully clothed.

Danny sighed and slid down. "The bubbles… bubbles… heh that's a funny word. Bubbles."

"Buuuuuuubbles!" Tucker drawled.

Suddenly Danny sat up and made intense eye contact with Sam and Tucker. "I love you guys so much."

"Really, bro?" Tucker gasped.

Sam splashed water towards them. This prompted Tucker to pick her up by the waist, causing her to yelp.

"It's cold out here! Put me down you dork!"

Tucker dropped Sam and her head submerged under the water. When she didn't resurface right away, the boys looked at the water in worry. A few moments later Tucker started giggling.

"Sam! Sam, please, no! Let go of my foot!"

Sam was running her nails along the bottom of Tucker's foot, tickling it. He struggled to get out of her grasp and when he finally did, he toppled over the side of the hot tub onto the grass.

He groaned. "Sam, I hate you."

She gasped, a mock hurt on her face. "But I thought you loved me!"

"Ask me again in the morning."

"Dannyyy!" Sam whined turning to him.

Danny looked over the side of the hot tub at where Tucker was laying on his back. He took his hand out of the water and pointed it at Tucker.

"No, dude, I don't want another drunk high five. The last time-"

Tucker got cut off with a yelp as the water in his clothes and on his skin froze.

He tried to stand up but his clothes wouldn't give. He sent a glare to Danny.

"Tell Sam you love her!"

"Why?! She was tickling my foot!"

"Well you picked me up and dumped me in the water!"

"Yeah, well-"

Danny slowly slid back from the wall into the water. Tucker's eyes widened.

He didn't want to be the next frozen man.

"Fine! I love you, Sam! Now Danny! Unfreeze me!"

Once the ice melted Tucker jumped back into the hot tub, tackling Danny into the water and spilling one of their drinks. They wrestled for a few moments until they saw the backyard light flick on. They emerged and gasped for air, looking around to see what was happening.

Only to see Sam's parents in their fancy night gowns.

"Sam!" Pamela exclaimed. "What are you three doing at this time of night?!"

She looked at the drinks and bottles on the hot tub.

"Have you three been drinking?!"

The three of them looked at Sam's parents in silence before Danny let out an exclamation.

"Hide!"

He pulled Sam and Tucker under the water with him.

The Manson's rushed into the grass to looked over the edge of the hot tub only to find the three teenagers gone.


	23. Trap

Warnings: horror, mention of screaming

Dani was hiding invisibly underneath a rickety old table in an abandoned house. Somehow the Fentons had managed to trap both Danny's under a ghost shield while they planned a course of action to capture them.

They hadn't known she was there until she flew outside to continue on her way to their house. Except she couldn't go anywhere. That's when she'd seen Danny.

She was so happy that he was there. That she wasn't alone. Danny would know how to fix this without getting caught by his parents.

But there was something wrong with Danny.

He was standing a few inches from the shield just staring at his parents. He was unmoving and stonelike until she said his name. When he turned his eyes were fully green. No pupils, no whites. Just radioactive green.

Danny had smiled unnervingly at her as he tilted his head to the side.

"What do we have here, Danielle?" He barked. "Two Phantom's, one ghost shield. My parents are going to have a field day!"

"Danny, are you alright?" Dani asked nervously, taking a step back.

"Why I'm just peachy! I just decimated a whole city block! The screams, the yells of horror. The fire. It fills me with with an unfathomable amount of energy!"

"You're taking energy from people's pain?" Dani whispered. "Why would you do that?"

Danny laughed. "I didn't mean to at first but it's simply quite addicting. I get such a rush and it made me a better fighter. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you're a hero! You know right from wrong!"

"I do." Danny said looking back at his parents. "That doesn't mean I have to abide by that."

He looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"How about you? You look like you'd be a delicious snack."

Dani's eyes widened in horror as she took a few steps back. He turned to face her and leaned down to whisper.

"I suggest you run."

Dani turned and flew back into the house. She could hear Danny laughing maniacally behind her and she flew to the first spot she could think of.

And now here she was under this table.

She could hear Danny walking around the house. One moment his footsteps would be above her and then his voice would come from the next room over.

"Where are you Daniiiii? Come out, come out wherever you areee."

His footsteps were getting closer and Dani held her breath. She saw his feet walk through the doorway and across the dusty floor. After a few moments he turned and walked back into the hallway. Dani let her breath out, relieved.

Suddenly Danny was in front of her, staring straight into her invisible eyes. As if it did nothing to shield her. He smiled and tilted his head.

"He was right.

"I am inevitable."

Outside the ghost shield, Jack and Maddie could hear the screams of a little girl. They didn't mean for her to get caught up in this. But there was no time for regrets.

They had a ghost to hunt.


	24. Ink

Dash sat at his desk writing on a piece of paper. He had a few packed bags sitting on his bed, ready for when he had to leave. Something happened and they needed to go.

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_Something happened with my friend. You'll probably see it on the news later. But I can't stay here. I don't want to go into details, because you won't care much about them anyways. I'm writing this to say goodbye. _

Dash's pen ran out of ink and he stood up and walked to his backpack to find another when someone flew intangibly through the wall and crashed into his bed.

Danny Phantom shook his head before looking up at Dash who was clutching the pen in his hands.

"Dash they're here. We need to leave."

Danny stood up and put on one of Dash's backpacks he landed on before he turned back to Dash who was standing in front of his desk again. A creak in the ceiling could be heard and dust fell to the floor.

"Dash, come on! We need to leave now!"

"But I need to-"

"There's no time!" Danny threw the other bag at Dash, waiting for him to put it on before picking him up and flying invisibly back through the wall.

Outside there were hundreds of GIW operatives searching the streets. Ten were on the roof of Dash's house while many more swarmed the outside on the ground. All of the operatives started beeping as one of their machines went off. They all started moving, aiming their weapons at where Dash and Danny flew through the air.

"Gotta get home! Gotta get to the portal!" Danny said anxiously.

They spun and dived, taking sharp turns to avoid shots from the GIW's guns.

Soon they were at Fentonworks where Danny flew them into the lab. As he and Dash were running to the specter speeder, he heard feet pounding down the stairs.

"Hurry!" Danny yelled.

They got in and shut the door. As Danny was typing in commands and directions, he could hear his parents outside the vehicle.

"Phantom, scum! Come out with your hands up!"

"Leave our baby boy alone!"

Danny finished typing in the last command and accelerated into the ghost zone, feeling the shots from his parents weapons hit the outside of the specter speeder.

Danny leaned into Dash and cried.

QQQQQQQQQQQQ

"Honey, the news is on!" Mrs. Baxter called.

Mr. Baxter joined his wife on the couch, placing an arm around her shoulders.

"This is Tiffany Snow. Here for you today we have a emergency broadcast. This footage was given to the station about six hours ago."

Grainy footage appeared on screen. It showed the Fenton boy and his two friends. They stood there talking for a few seconds before a ring appeared and the boy turned into Phantom. Mr. and Mrs. Baxter gasped at this, eyes wide.

"We have Lance Thunder broadcasting an update on the situation from Blossom Lane."

"Blossom Lane?" Mrs. Baxter said leaning forward. "Isn't that-"

"Thanks, Tiffany. I'm here with GIW Operative O. What information do you have about the ghost boys identity?"

"This feral specter has been confirmed to have been masquerading as none other than Danny Fenton, the son of renowned ghost hunters Jack and Maddie Fenton. We tracked him here where we saw him go into this house four hours ago."

An image of the Baxter's house appeared on screen.

"When Phantom invisibly left, our scanners picked him up and showed another figure with him. We have reason to believe that Phantom has taken them hostage. Our John Doe is young with a built body. The last time the two were seen was when Phantom stole Fenton technology and fled into the ghost zone."

The Baxter's sat stunned as they stared at the tv until the situation hit them. Together they ran up the stairs to Dash's room only to see an unkempt bed, a dusty floor, and a letter on the desk.

They read the letter and got to the last line which was faded and patchy.

_ I'm go n e. _


	25. Anniversary

Anastasia lay in her bed. She wasn't prepared to face today. It should just be like any other day. But it wasn't.

Today was the one year anniversary since Vlad left.

She shouldn't call it an anniversary. That sounds too nice. Maybe observance. Annual happening.

Not anniversary.

They still haven't heard a single word from Vlad. No calls. No visits. No letters. He wasn't even talking to his college friends. _She_ still talked to Vlad's college friends more than he did. Vlad just simply didn't seem to exist anymore.

Anastasia slowly pulled herself out of bed. She ran her hands over her face and stood up, carrying a worn out turtle and raggedy teddy bear with her.

She headed into the kitchen and started cooking up her and Vlad's favorite Saturday morning breakfast. Strawberry pancakes and eggs. The smell filled the air and she felt a pang in her heart.

Once it was done cooking she took her stuffed animals and sat on the floor in front of the tv and turned on Scooby Doo. It wasn't as fun to watch anymore, especially after their own nasty encounter with a malevolent spirit, but she kept watching for a couple hours for the sake of nostalgia.

Anastasia heard her mom creaking down the stairs and stood up to wash her dishes. Before her mother could see her she walked out the rickety screen door into the backyard. Their playground was starting to crumble and some of the frog statues were falling apart. No ones really kept up with the garden in the time since Vlad's accident. It made the whole house look lifeless. Abandoned.

Stuffing her hands in her pockets, Anastasia started walking down the road. After a couple twists and shortcuts, she found herself on Raven Road in front of the haunted, abandoned house.

She headed up to the porch and walked inside, dread filling her stomach already. Goosebumps appeared on her arms and made her hair stand on end.

That ghost was still here.

As she walked around and eventually made it to the second floor, the ghost failed to find her. She kept wandering until she came upon a slightly ajar door with echoing voices coming from behind it. She pressed her ear to the crack and listened.

"It's just… Today is a really hard day. I'd been planning on coming back and apologizing but _he_ is trying to stop me. He just wants wealth, fame, revenge. It doesn't want to forgive and amend."

Anastasia's brows furrowed. What was this guy talking about?

"I came here because I know your afterlife isn't… The best. I was wondering if you had any advice for me."

"Our obsession's are nearly impossible to ignore. Many ghosts feel uncontrollable rage when something changes or when they can't fulfill their obsession. Those who can't fall into a deep spiral."

Ghosts? Was that Old Man McConald?

She heard a soft smack and a huff of frustration.

"I know. I've been trying to stay away from the other two because I'm afraid of what will happen when I finally see them again."

"But you're not like the rest of us. We don't know exactly how your obsession will work. Maybe it will adapt, maybe you'll be strong enough to ignore it. Maybe not."

A sigh. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, old man."

"I'm just saying, that maybe-"

Anastasia sneezed as some dust floated into her nose and the conversation in the next room stopped. Ice filled her veins and she began to panic as she backed up from the door.

The floorboards began to shake and the door between her and the ghosts slammed open, revealing Old Man McConald and a young blue specter with spikey black hair.

The younger ghosts eyes widened when he saw her. He tried to say something to Old Man McConald, but the older ghost was already preparing to strike. Anastasia began to run.

She ran down the hall and threw herself over the banister onto the stairs, running and panting until she made it outside into the sun where she knew the ghost couldn't follow. She collapsed on the ground and stared at the front door as tears welled in her eyes. She hit the ground with her fists.

_Stupid. Stupid! Why did you think coming here would be a good idea? What kind of closure did you think you were gonna get?_

As Anastasia hit the ground, she felt the prickling sensation along her skin grow stronger and she looked up at the younger ghost, who was staring down at her.

"Uh, um. Hi.. Sorry about that." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the house. "Mr. McConald has an..uh.. Obsession. That he can't control. That's why he's like that and stuff."

"Obsession?" She whispered.

"Yeah.." He said, folding his arms behind his back. "It's something all ghosts have I guess, to varying degrees."

They stared at each other for a few moments before he cleared his throat and spoke again.

"Can I walk you home? I just… I know that was probably scary and I want to make sure you get home safely."

"Sure.. I guess."

He held a hand down for Anastasia and she took it, pulling herself up. They began the trek home as the sun set.

"So…" He said. "Why were you inside Old Man McConald's house anyways?"

She laughed, a broken sound. "It's stupid."

"I bet it's not."

She snorted. "You bet it is."

A rock was on the path they were taking. Anastasia kicked it and sighed.

"My brother left without telling anyone why, where he was going, or what he was feeling a year ago. I don't know if he's dead or alive and it's been eating at me. I was hoping that I could get a certain kind of closure today but…"

"Didn't work out?" He asked, cocking a brow.

"Nope. It made it worse in fact."

They were silent for a little bit until the ghost replied softly.

"I bet he misses you, though."

"I miss him too."

They walked in silence the last few minutes until they got back home. Anastasia was about to open the screen door when she turned around to face the ghost again.

"What's your name?"

At that the ghosts eyes widened in panic and his gaze darted around and he scratched behind his ear.

"I.. uh. Um. Plasmius?"

Anastasia smiled. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Plasmius. Thank you for being a gentleman and walking me home."

He smiled. "It was my pleasure."

She turned back to the door and headed inside. Leaning against the door, she waited for the prickling sensation in her skin to go away. Once it did, her shoulders sagged and she felt a strange sense of emptiness.

Grabbing her stuffed animals, Anastasia headed back upstairs.


	26. Community

A crowd of hundreds of people gathered outside of the Amity Park City Hall. There were picket signs, people throwing food at the front of the building, and people wandering, getting signatures for a petition.

The crowd chanted together.

"Free Danny Phantom!"

"Free Danny Fenton!"

"Free Danny Phantom!"

"Free Danny Fenton!"

There was every person imaginable there. The geeky kids. Cheerleaders. Jocks. Basketball players. The band kids. Teachers. Respected parental figures. Ghost hunters.

They were all there to free Danny Fenton.

Finally, the city hall doors opened and Vlad Masters approached the podium set up with microphones.

"Now, now. Can't we solve this civilly?"

"Like how you solved it civilly by exposing Danny? Sam Manson shouted.

"I was doing what I saw fit for my town." Vlad said pompously. "He was a level 9 specter and was posing amongst us as one of our own. How could I let a ghost hurt our community like that?"

"He wasn't posing as anyone!" Tucker yelled.

"Let Fenton out!" Dash cried.

"I no longer have any authority over the ghost Danny Phantom. He has been handed over to GIW operatives."

A hush fell over the crowd and was broken by the low voice of Sam.

"You did what?"

"I transferred him to the custody of the GIW. They will look for a way to safely free Daniel from Phantom's grasp."

"Vlad what the hell?" Tucker's hands formed into fists and he glared up at the mayor. "You know good and well that-"

"I know nothing about Daniel's condition! I'm merely trying to be of service."

"So why expose him to the world? Why take him to a government facility where they'll experiment on him instead of talking to his parents about it?" Jazz yelled.

"What if this was you Vlad?" Sam smirked. "Maybe we'll-"

"Preposterous!" Vlad exclaimed. "I have not been in cahoots with any ghosts like Daniel has!"

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" Tucker lowered his head to start fiddling with his PDA. After a few moments, Tucker successfully raised a screen set up behind Vlad. Speakers hidden throughout the crowd started playing.

"Disappeared! We were so close, if only we'd managed to melt that little brat down!"

"Is that Plasmius?"

Vlad's eyes widened and as he turned around, an image appeared on screen of a lab. Vlad walked into the frame.

"And who knew Valerie would be so easy to fool? 'Trapping' me in the closet." A black ring appeared around Vlad's waist and traveled along his body, revealing a ghost. "Oh, ingenious! For a smart girl, she's very easily led."

The image disappeared from the screen and the crowd was silent. Vlad slowly turned around to see hundreds of people glaring at him.

"Free Danny Phantom!"

"Free Danny Fenton!"

"Free Danny Phantom!"

"Free Danny Fenton!"


	27. Scream

"Sam I don't think this is going to help me."

Jazz walked behind Sam through a forest on the outskirts of Amity Park. There weren't a lot of houses out here and not many people came this way.

"C'mon, Jazz. I do this all the time. It's great." Sam said as she stepped over a tree root.

"Yeah but you're you! You like all that weird unconventional things. I like my notes and self care books."

"Are your self care books helping you right now?"

"No, but-"

"My point exactly. Let's say this. You try this once as an experiment, if it does nothing you never have to do it again. If it helps, you can say I was right for once."

Jazz's brows furrowed and her shoulders hiked up but she stayed silent and stomped after Sam. Soon they came to an open clearing on a big hill that overlooked the forest below them.

"Can't I just look at the forest? Won't that be relaxing enough?" Jazz asked.

"Nope. That won't help you get out your frustrations. You'll just get angry at the trees."

"I won't get angry at the trees!"

"Tell that to Bearbert the last time you tried talking to him when you were upset."

"That was one time!"

Jazz huffed and turned away from Sam, staring back the way they came.

She didn't want to do this.

"Okay." Sam said. "First thing's first, don't have anything in your hands because you don't want to throw anything down the hill in rage. Trust me, Tucker has done it before and he got stuck down there.

"Second thing, we're gonna do a power stance." Sam stood with her legs apart and her hands on her hips. "This will help us feel more confident."

Jazz stood in the position awkwardly. "Sam, I don't think-"

Sam turned around to face her."

"Jazz, you're always telling us what to do, right?"

"...right."

"And you always try to help us even when we don't want it or think it's dumb, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, please, just try one of our things once. Just once. Maybe it won't be as bad as you think."

Jazz sighed and nodded. Sam turned around, getting back in her power stance.

"Step three.

"Scream."

Sam took a deep breath and let out a wail so loud it startled some birds out a nearby tree. It shocked Jazz that Sam even had the capacity to do that.

The sound died down and Sam cleared her throat, turning to face Jazz smiling.

"Your turn."

Jazz took a deep breath and shook out her arms before taking her stance again. She dug her shoes into the dirt a little. She took a deep breath and bent forward a little as she let a shriek loose.

It wasn't as loud as Sam's and didn't last for nearly as long, but once it was over Jazz could admit there was less tension in her body.

Sam smirked at the expression on Jazz's face.

"What did I tell you?"

"Do you all do this?" Jazz asked.

"We used to. Danny can't now that he got his ghostly wail. He knocked over a tree down there a few months ago." Sam said pointing

"Why did you even think this would work? What prompted you to do this the first time?"

Sam shrugged.

"You always see girls scream into their pillows in those stereotypical high school movies. I figured, why the heck not? Plus it'd be fun. And my parents would totally not approve.

"Wanna go again?"

Jazz nodded sheepishly and together they screamed the forests ears off.


	28. Galaxy

"You know you're such a dork, right?"

Danny groaned into his pillow as Dash chuckled beside him.

"What? It's not my fault you're the nerdiest nerd ever."

"I am not!" Danny mumbled angrily.

"You're not? Then why do you have a rocket ship over there? Or this galaxy blanket? Or the glow in the dark stars on your- oof!"

Dash was interrupted as Danny hit him in the face with a pillow.

"Well you're a dork for all your soap operas!"

Dash gasped, offended. "There is nothing dorky about those! They're full of love and compassion-"

"And betrayal and murder." Danny grumbled.

"So! They're good!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, man."

They sat in silence for a few moments, Dash clutching Danny's pillow, before Danny said something.

"Hey wanna see something Sam helped me with?"

"Is it dorky?"

"No! It's actually really cool."

Danny stood up from the bed and closed the door. Then he pulled the blackout curtains closed and turned off the lights. He sat back on the bed as Dash looked around the room with his jaw dropped.

"Whoa."

All over Danny's walls that were blank moments ago were galaxies, stars, constellations, nebulas. They glowed brightly and the colors bounced off of Danny's skin.

"Sam had this idea because you know glow in the dark paint right? I don't know what she did but somehow she got ectoplasm and thinned it out and mixed it with paint and whatever and then we did this."

They looked around. The painting covered the walls, the ceiling. There was even some on the door.

"How long did this take you guys?"

Danny shrugged. "Between school and ghost fighting it probably took a couple months. But it was worth it." He pointed to a constellation beside his window. "That's Andromeda."

He pointed across the room above his desk. "That's Orion."

They laid back down on the bed and Dash watched as Danny pointed to different corners of the room, naming constellations and other space bodies.

"You're such a dork." Dash said, looking at Danny.

Danny opened his mouth to retort when Dash interrupted him by grabbing his hand.

"But I love it."

Danny's face of objection turned into a smile and he went back to explaining one of the planets on his wall. Dash closed his eyes and listened as Danny talked on happily.


	29. Theory

Dash pecked Danny on the cheek outside his classroom before heading to his own class. As he turned the corner in the hallway, he was met with a very grumpy Wes Weston staring him down.

"Weston."

"Baxter."

They stared at each other for a few moments before Wes started pulling papers and graphs out of his backpack. Dash groaned.

"Look! I've documented all the times Danny disappears and Phantom is seen. Look at all these photos and-"

"You're still going on about this, Wes?" Dash chuckled nervously. "Why don't you go find a girlfriend instead? Or some friends?"

Wes glared at him. "I have friends. They just… Are busy."

Dash snorted. "Yeah right." He started walking away.

"Wait, hey!" Wes darted out in front of him. "You're dating the freak, right? Wouldn't you-"

Dash pointed a finger into Wes's chest, getting up in his face. "Stop whatever it is you're saying right now. And don't call him a freak." He started to walk away.

"But wouldn't you-"

"No! I wouldn't! I don't want to hear any of your hoaxy theories about my boyfriend."

Silence.

"You know don't you?"

Dash froze and turned to look over his shoulder. Wes was standing there gaping at him.

"What the fuck, Dash! You totally already knew!"

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "I don't know what you're talking about, _Phantom_." Dash smirked as Wes embodied an angry cat's raising hackles and bristling fur.

"Why are you dating the freak if you know he's a dangerous ghost? You don't know if that's still really Fenton. He could-"

Wes was cut off by Dash picking him up and slamming him into the locker.

"Listen, Wes." He growled. "I know you're into all these conspiracies and like being right and getting attention and everything.

"But this is literally his life. You exposing him could literally be a life or death situation. People find out he's Phantom? The GIW would start coming after him, do government testing. The Red Huntress could find out where he lives and try to kill him. He lives two stories above a ghost hunting lab for fucks sake." Dash spit.

"This isn't about whether or not you're right. It's about whether or not he gets to live."

Dash dropped a shaken Wes on the floor and started walking away.

"And if you continue trying to expose him, don't think we won't retaliate.

"After all, half the student body thinks you're Phantom."


	30. Laughter

"No! Stop! Please!"

Danny wheezed with laughter as Dash tickled him.

Dash's fingers trailed down Danny's sides, a smirk on his face. "What, you can't go intangible?"

"N-no! You know it doesn't work when I'm- I'm being tickled! You jerk!"

"Me? A jerk?" Dash gasped. "I believe you have me mistaken for someone else!"

Danny squirmed around until he had enough leverage and pushed Dash off the couch.

"The jerkiest of jerks."

Dash splayed himself across the floor, hand resting dramatically against his forehead. "You wound me, my love."

Danny snorted. "You're so dramatic."

"I am not! This is the appropriate amount of reaction deemed necessary for the situation!"

"Even that explanation was extra."

Dash dove at the couch aiming for Danny's sides again only to fall through him and hit the couch instead. He glared up into Danny's smirking face.

"What's wrong Dash? Were you looking for something?"

He shrugged. "Maybe I was looking for a hand to hold, a cheek to kiss."

"A stomach to tickle?"

Dash nodded solemnly. "And it wasn't there. It's so sad." He brushed away a fake tear and Danny rolled his eyes.

"If I go tangible again will you leave me alone?"

Dash nodded his head exuberantly this time. "For sure. I'll totally leave you alone if you go tangible again."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Because the way you said it makes it sound like that's totally not gonna happen."

"What? No! I would never lie to you!"

"Promise?"

"Pinky promise."

Danny went tangible and sank into the couch. He raised his hand up to Dash's and they locked their pinkies together.

Suddenly Dash stood up and started heading to the front door.

"Where are you going?" Danny asked.

"I promised I'd leave you alone if you went tangible. Here I am. Leaving you alone." He opened the door.

"Dash, no-"

"Here I am waving goodbye."

Dash's hand was sticking in through the doorway, fingers waggling at Danny.

"Dash you don't even have your shoes on."

"Goodbyee."

The door clicked shut.

Danny sighed and stood up, walking over to the door and locking the handle. He sat back down on the couch and waited.

"3… 2… 1…"

The door handle jiggled. Then someone was knocking against the door. Soon Dash could be heard shouting.

"Danny! Hey! Let me back in!"

"What was that?" Danny yelled. "I'm too busy being in here alone."

"It was a joke! Let me in!"

"I can't hear you over how dramatic you are!"

"I am not dramatic!"

Danny stood up and walked to the front door, sticking his head through to smile innocently at Dash on the front step.

"Oh hello there, Dash."

"Let me in."

"Or you'll what?"

"I'll-"

Dash was interrupted as a scream permeated the air. He turned around to see an old lady pointing a finger at Danny's head.

"Danny!" Dash whispered.

"Oh no."

Dash turned around to face the woman, taking out his phone. "Don't worry ma'am! This is just some new fangled technology of us youngsters! See, here. I'll turn it off."

Dash pressed a random spot on his phone screen and pointed it at Danny who faded from sight.

"See? Nothing to worry about here. There aren't disembodied heads flying around. No sir-ee."

The old woman glared at him as she walked down the street. Finally, the front door opened back up and Danny was pulling him inside. For a few moments after the door shut they stood in silence.

Then Danny was laughing. Cracking up and clutching his stomach he slid to the floor. Soon Dash followed and they were a laughing heap on the floor.

After a few minutes they calmed down and Dash was running his fingers through Danny's hair.

"Danny?"

"Yeah, Dash?"

Dash's content smile turned into a mischievous smirk, and he seized Danny's sides once again.

"No! Dash!"

Laughter rang throughout the home, filling it with warmth and happiness.


	31. Medicine

Dani felt groggy as she woke up. Her head hurt and she felt dizzy. She couldn't remember where she was.

As she woke she could hear two people quietly whisper to her right. She groaned, bringing her hand up to her forehead. The whispering stopped.

Finally she pried open her eyes to see two identical kids around her age staring at her from a bed across the room.

She bolted up, nearly falling off the bed she was laying on from a dizzy spell, and looked around for a way to escape. There was a window right there, but she had ghost powers she could just go through the wall.

Wait did they know she had ghost powers?

Dani slid her gaze back to the two kids who were looking at her with curiosity.

She cleared her dry throat.

"Can I help you?"

The girl let out a high pitched squeal, causing Dani and the boy to cover their ears. She was bubbly and excited. Way too excited for Dani.

"Mabel, can you not?"

"What, Dipdop? Can I not welcome our guest?" Mabel stood from the bed she was sitting on and walked across the room to Dani. "Hi, I'm Mabel and Captain Buzzkill over there is my brother, Dipper. What's your name?"

"Dani…"

"Hi, Dani!" Mabel smiled a toothy grin.

Dipper groaned. "C'mon, Mabel. We were supposed to go get Stan when she woke up. Now she's awake, let's go get Stan.

"Dipper! Live a little!"

Dani was studying the two identical kids before her, eyes squinted. She had a bad feeling in her gut. She didn't know who this Stan guy was, but she didn't have a good feeling about this.

After the two bickered for a little bit, Dani interrupted them with a question.

"Are you two clones?"

Dipper and Mabel shared a glance before looking back at Dani.

"Clones? What? Pft." Mabel said, laughing. "Me and Bro-Bro here are twins!"

"Twins?" Dani said.

"Yeah like… We have the same birthday and stuff. Born at the same time. Except I was born five minutes before Dipper! Alpha twin! Alpha twin!"

"Mabel!" Dipper shouted, then sighed. "Are you a clone?" He asked warily.

Dani opened her mouth in reply just as an old, gray man walked into the room with a small cup and a steaming bowl.

"What did I tell you kids? You were supposed to come get me when she woke up." He grumbled and walked over to Dani, handing her the bowl.

She took it and looked inside to see noodles and carrots floating around. Chicken noodle soup.

She looked back up to see the man holding out the smaller cup to her. She eyed it warily and he sighed.

"Look, kid. We found you outside bakin' in the sun sweating your toes off. Not sure how you got there or what you're sick with, but hopefully this medicine will help."

"You're not gonna experiment on me?" Dani asked.

"Experiment- what?" He turned to look at Dipper and Mabel who both shrugged.

"She asked us if we were clones before too." Dipper said.

"Yeah, Grunkle Stan! She doesn't even know what twins are!" Mabel exclaimed.

"Clones?" Stan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, grumbling. "This town and it's freaky weirdness." Louder, "No experiments, no cloning. Just some rest, food, and time out of the heat. Does that sound good to you?"

Dani looked around at the cozy attic and its inhabitants. They all seemed really genuine. They didn't let on that they knew she was a halfa. She felt safe here.

She nodded and took the little cup of medicine, downing it in one go.

"There we go." Stan said, ruffling her hair. "Now eat that and I'm gonna go make some Stancakes."

"Without the hair?" Dipper asked.

Stan shrugged. "What's a little hair in your pancakes every once in awhile?"

"Gross?"

Dani listened as the three talked and bickered. No ghosts, no Vlad. No impending doom waiting for her.

She was going to like it here.


	32. Puppet

Dash watched himself walk away holding Danny's core. He didn't know that was possible.

He didn't know if Danny was okay or not.

"No!" Dash screamed, ripping control of his body back from the being inside him. He turned back towards the direction Danny was in, clutching the glowing orb to his chest protectively.

"I'm not going to let you win!" He ground out between clenched teeth.

Dash shakily, forcefully took a couple steps. It took all his concentration, he was sweating. He could see Danny laying on the ground over there but then his limbs stopped.

"No! Let me give this back to him! He needs it!" Dash yelled.

He could feel control being pulled from his grasp and his body turned around again. As he was pushed back into the recess of his own mind, the world grew dimmer. Soon everything was black and he was trapped inside his head.

Hours later, Dash gasped awake, shooting up from his bed. He looked around, seeing the core nowhere in sight.

"No, no. What did it do with it?" Dash whispered.

He pulled up his sheets, looked inside his mattress. In the closet, his false shelf, he even made a couple holes in the walls but he couldn't find it. He lost Danny's core.

Dash slid down the wall, hands gripping his hair. He folded himself into a ball and cried. This was all his fault. If he hadn't made that stupid deal, Danny would be okay right now. Dash didn't even know if he was alive or-

Danny!

Dash scrambled over to his bed where he found his phone tangled in the bed sheets. He scrolled to Danny's contact and hit call. It rang, and rang, and rang. Dread pooled in Dash's stomach and he thought he wouldn't get an answer.

"Hello? Dash?"

Dash inhaled a sharp breath at the sound of Danny's croaky voice. Tears continued to slide down his cheeks and he couldn't hold in his sob.

"I'm so sorry, Danny."

"Dash are you okay?" Danny asked. "Is that thing gone?"

"Am I okay?" Dash let out a high pitched laugh. "I stole your core earlier. Are you okay?"

"Dash, no. That wasn't you. I've felt better but I can manage. Is it gone?"

Dash shrugged. "Probably not. I don't know what it did with your core though." Tears overflowed his eyes again. "Danny, if I had known what was going to happen, I would've never-"

"What did you do Dash?"

Dash hiccuped. "I accidentally cast this spell-"

"How do you accidentally cast a spell?"

"I was trying to cast a different one! But something went wrong and I cast the wrong spell. I made a deal with it and then all this happened."

Silence.

"Why were you casting spells anyways?"

"I…" Dash sighed. "I wanted to see my mom."

"Dash…" Danny said softly.

"I know it's stupid! I shouldn't have done it and-"

"No, no it's not stupid. You just should've had backup. Or at the very least asked Sam what to do."

Dash stared at his blanket as he played with a loose thread. "What do we do now?"

"We fight."

Dash spluttered. "But you don't have your ghost powers! We don't even know how badly hurt you actually are! What if the thing controls me again?"

"Then we'll figure out how to stop it. Or get it out and restrain it. But we're gonna fight.

"And we're gonna win."


	33. Vein

Danny stood in the lab, his arms crossed over his chest. His parents were going on and on about some new invention they made. About how it could hurt, disable, or destroy him.

He really needed to meet Sam and Tucker for patrol but his parents were taking forever to set the machine up.

"This machine will help us in deciphering whether or not a ghost is overshadowing someone!" Maddie said as she shut the panel on the top of the device. "It will illuminate the ectoplasmic particles inside the human."

Danny's blood ran cold.

"Uh.. That's neat. But won't the readings be wonky? We come into contact with ectoplasm everyday in this town. Especially you and dad! Won't the machine pinpoint on you?"

Jack shook his head. "Nope, Dannyboy! Our bodies break down the ectoplasm before it can manifest to that level. Of course, that could change depending on someone's metabolism."

Backing towards the stairs, Danny asked another question.

"How does it work?"

"It sends out a wavelength on the same level as ectoplasm and when they interact with one another it'll cause it to glow! It's kind of like an x-ray, but you don't need to print any pictures!"

Maddie carried the cord to the wall and plugged it into an outlet.

"If it only works when a ghost is overshadowing someone why are you going to test it now? Shouldn't you test it when you have a ghost here?"

"Gotta make sure she purrs when we start her up, Danny!" Jack said and he flicked the on switch.

The machine started humming and for a moment, nothing happened. But as Danny lifted an arm to rub the back of his neck, he froze.

His veins and lichtenberg scars were glowing a bright, radioactive green. They pulsed in time with his rapidly increasing heartbeat. He tore his gaze away from his arm to look at his parents, who were gaping at him.

He started backing away closer to the stairs again when they pulled out their weapons, aiming at him.

"What are you doing to our boy?!" Maddie yelled.

"Mom, no, please-"

Danny dropped to his knees, covering his head as a blast was shot to his right leaving a scorch mark on the wall.

He looked back up only to see his dad with the Jack'o nine tails.

It came over Jack's shoulder and Danny rolled to the left and it hit the ground where he was a second ago.

"Please, you guys. Let me-"

A blast hit his shoulder and he cried out in pain. His mom's gun was smoking and she towered over him.

"Let him go." She growled.

Tears were quickly filling Danny's eyes as he looked up at her, past the barrel of the blaster. He shook his head.

"It's me, mom." He whispered.

He heard the gun whir up again and just as it shot, he went intangible. Turning invisible, he turned and ran up the stairs. He transformed and shot into the night sky.


	34. Glass

His dad found out.

Dash's dad found out.

He found out that Dash was into guys and started yelling and throwing things. He had run out to his room, locked the door, and pushed his dresser in front of it before climbing out the window.

And now here he was. At the top of this stupid fucking tree again.

But he didn't want to leave. No one would be able to find him here. Except maybe Kwan. He was safe here.

Dash just felt… So broken and fragile. Like a glass cup that had shattered against a hard tile floor. His dad broke him and now it felt like he was missing a couple pieces.

He stayed in the tree alone for a long time. The sun was starting to rise and all he could do was stare blankly at the trees in the park.

Then he heard a disembodied voice speak.

"Dash?"

Phantom faded into visibility, brows furrowed in concern.

Dash didn't answer, just leaned his head against the tree trunk and closed his eyes. He was starting to get tired.

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Dash? What's going on? Why are you sitting in the tree?"

He cracked one eye open to look at Phantom.

"My dad found out." He croaked.

Phantom's eyes widened and a second went by before he floated down to sit on the tree next to Dash. He wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned into him.

"I'm sorry."

Dash shrugged.

They sat like that for awhile until Dash's eyes started to close and he began lilting back and forth on the branch.

"Okay, Dash." Phantom said. "You need to sleep. In, like, a bed. And not a tree."

"Don't got one no more…" Dash mumbled.

"That's fine. I know someone who does."

Phantom picked Dash up and carried the dozing boy across town.

Dash was almost asleep as he was placed down in a soft bed. At this, he opened his eyes a little and as he looked at his surroundings his eyes shot open the rest of the way.

All around him was space and Nasa memorabilia, video game posters, and pictures of Danny and his two friends.

"Why are we here?!" Dash hissed as he sat up. "This is the Fenton's house!"

Phantom made a shushing motion with his hands. "Don't worry, it's fine."

"This is Danny's room! This is breaking and entering! What happens when he comes home from school and finds me in his bed?!"

Dash looked around the room nervously and saw something sitting on the floor.

"His backpack is still sitting there! He hasn't even left for school yet!"

"Dash!" Phantom sighed. "Look, I'm going to show you something and you can't freak out and you can't tell anyone. Okay?"

Dash nodded dumbly and waited, wondering how whatever this is had anything to do with the conversation at hand.

Phantom took a deep breath and scrunched his eyes closed. After a moment, a white ring appeared. Dash stared at it in awe as it traveled over Phantom's body. But that awe soon turned to horror as he recognized the very familiar t-shirt that appeared in the jumpsuits place.

Before him sat Danny Fenton. A very human Danny Fenton.

"What? How? You-"

Dash groaned, placing his hands over his face.

"_I told you._"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. You did."

They sat in silence for awhile before Dash removed his hands from his face.

"Are you still going to school?"

Danny shrugged. "I don't know. Do you want me to stay here with you?"

Dash nodded.

"Okay." Danny stood up and grabbed his backpack, bringing it back to the bed with him as he sat down. "I'll work on homework then. Get some sleep now."

Dash laid back down and Danny pulled out a notebook. Listening to the calming sound of a pencil scratching against paper, Dash quickly fell asleep.


End file.
